Pareto’s “80/20 rule,” which says that 80% of the output or benefits is produced or enjoyed by 20% of the members of any given group, has increasingly become a source of debate. For example, the top 20% American earners reap 51% of the national personal income.

How uneven is the social media wealth? If Wikipedia were a country and words its currency, how uneven would its “income” distribution be? Would Wikipedia me more egalitarian than Denmark or more elitist than Sierra Leone? And more importantly, do the highest earners belong to a stable elite, or do they change all the time?

What can this type of research tell us about nurturing social media engagement and a sense of equity and democracy online?